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Boehner to Obama: No debt hike without concessions

The United States moved closer to the possibility of the first-ever default on the government's debt Sunday as Speaker John Boehner adamantly ruled out a House vote on a straightforward bill to boost the borrowing authority without concessions from President Barack Obama.

With no resolution in sight, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned that Congress is "playing with fire" as he called on lawmakers to quickly pass legislation re-opening the government and a measure increasing the nation's $16.7 trillion debt limit.

The government shutdown precipitated by the budget brinkmanship entered its sixth day with hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed, national parks closed and an array of government services on hold.

Lew said Obama has not changed his opposition to coupling a bill to re-open the government and raise the borrowing authority with Republican demands for changes in the 3-year-old health care law and spending cuts.

Boehner insisted that Obama must negotiate if the president wants to end the shutdown and avert a default that could trigger a financial crisis and recession that would echo the events of 2008 or worse. The 2008 financial crisis pushed the country into the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

"We're not going to pass a clean debt limit increase," the Ohio Republican said in a television interview. "I told the president, there's no way we're going to pass one. The votes are not in the House to pass a clean debt limit, and the president is risking default by not having a conversation with us."

Boehner also said he lacks the votes "to pass a clean CR," or continuing resolution, a reference to the temporary spending bill without conditions that would keep the government operating. Democrats argue that their 200 members in the House plus close to two dozen pragmatic Republicans would back a so-called clean bill if Boehner just allowed a vote, but he remains hamstrung by his tea party-strong GOP caucus.

"Let me issue him a friendly challenge. Put it on the floor Monday or Tuesday. I would bet there are the votes to pass it," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

In a series of Sunday television appearances, Lew warned that on Oct. 17, when he exhausts the bookkeeping maneuvers he has been using to keep borrowing, the threat of default would be imminent.

"I'm telling you that on the 17th, we run out of the ability to borrow, and Congress is playing with fire," Lew said.

Lew said that while Treasury expects to have $30 billion of cash on hand on Oct. 17, that money will be quickly exhausted in paying incoming bills given that the government's payments can run up to $60 billion on a single day.

Treasury issued a report on Thursday detailing in stark terms what could happen if the government actually defaulted on its obligations to service the national debt.

"A default would be unprecedented and has the potential to be catastrophic," the Treasury report said. "Credit markets could freeze, the value of the dollar could plummet, U.S. interest rates could skyrocket, the negative spillovers could reverberate around the world."

Private economists generally agree that a default on the U.S. debt would be extremely harmful, especially if the impasse was not resolved quickly.

"If they don't pay on the debt, that would cost us for generations to come," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. He said a debt default would be a "cataclysmic" event that would roil financial markets in the United States and around the world.

Zandi said that holders of U.S. Treasury bonds would demand higher interest rates which would cost the country hundreds of billions of dollars in higher interest payments in coming years on the national debt.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a force in pushing Republicans to link changes to the health care law in exchange for keeping the government running, spelled out his conditions for raising the borrowing authority.

"We should look for three things. No. 1, we should look for some significant structural plan to reduce government spending. No. 2, we should avoid new taxes. And No. 3, we should look for ways to mitigate the harms from 'Obamacare,'" Cruz said, describing the debt ceiling issue as one of the "best leverage the Congress has to rein in the executive."

Some Republicans, such as Rep. Steve King of Iowa, dismiss the warnings about a government default as an exaggeration, suggesting U.S. credit won't collapse and calling the talk "a lot of false demagoguery."

Asked how the standoff might end, Boehner said Sunday on ABC that he was uncertain: "If I knew, I'd tell you."

The Ohio Republican added that Obama can call him any time to start negotiations to end the shutdown. "He knows what my phone number is," Boehner said.

Privately, administration officials say they don't think Boehner and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell want a default as they realize it will be far worse than a shutdown, but the two don't know how to avoid it or when to try.

In one promising development, a large chunk of the furloughed federal work force is headed back to the Pentagon on Monday, and those who remain at home or are working without paychecks are a step closer to getting back pay once the partial government shutdown ends.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ended the argument for most Pentagon civilian employees, ordering nearly all 350,000 back on the job. Hagel said he based his decision on a Pentagon interpretation of a law called the Pay Our Military Act.

The Senate will try to vote this week on a bill that passed the House unanimously on Saturday to pay federal workers for days missed.

Boehner and Schumer were interviewed on ABC's "This Week," and Lew and Cruz on CNN's "State of the Union." Lew also appeared on CBS' "Face the Nation," ''Fox News Sunday" and NBC's "Meet the Press."

Comments

bondgirlM

Sun, 10/06/2013 - 8:33pm

Now Boehner stand firm.

Darwin's choice

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 1:27pm

Here's something interesting for the resident cheerleaders, Coasterfan,Big Dog, Deertracker,shizzle.....
An open letter to President Obama from Matt Walsh..

October 3, 2013

"Dear President Obama,
You strike me as the sort of man who spends a lot of time staring at his own reflection. I wonder, what do you see when you gaze so admiringly at yourself? What image do you find in that mirror of yours? Let me guess: a graceful Greek god with a golden crown, draped in luxurious robes, perched on a giant, magnificent throne atop a mountain in the sky? You see a throng of angels singing your praises and masses of subservient peasants prostrated before you, trembling with fear and awe? You see a man who is more than a man, and a president who transcends the presidency; you see a historic figure of immortal importance?

Yeah, that’s what I thought, and I can’t blame you, Mr. President. By all accounts, you’ve always been an arrogant, haughty narcissist — and that was before you became president. Your supporters and your enemies may argue over whether you descended from heaven on the back of a Pegasus, or were birthed from the bowels of Hell to bring about a Biblical apocalypse, but they both agree on one thing: you are a figure of great significance and immense power. You are either the anti-Christ or the Second Coming, with no room for anything in-between. Surely, this talk might cause even a humble man to slip into a state of vanity and pride, so I can only imagine what it must do to a man such as yourself, already so aloof and so conceited.

That’s why I’m writing this letter. My impression of you is quite different, and it has only been solidified by your performance during this shutdown/Obamacare debate. I find you to be a very small man, Mr. President. Far from larger than life, you are petty, frivolous, pathetic; sneering and pompous but also trifling and narrow. I don’t mean to dismiss or underestimate the damage you have done to this nation — it has certainly been profound and lasting — but I want you to know that your legacy will not be one of grandeur and brilliance; it will be the legacy of a shameless, desperate bully. Both your opponents and your proponents hoist you up as a world leader with a grand vision, whether benevolent or malevolent. I, on the other hand, believe you have the vision of a temperamental two year old. You simply want to feel like you’re in control; you want to “win,” you want everybody in the room to pay attention to you, and you’ll stomp your feet and whine until you get your way. You govern like a coddled toddler; it’s inappropriate to pejoratively refer to you as a “dictator,” but only because it lends you a certain unwarranted credibility. I think you wish to be a dictator, but instead you’re just a bumbling bureaucrat; easily replaced and even more easily forgotten. You have the ethics of Genghis Khan, but the leadership skills of Michael Scott. This is why we are forced to witness the spectacle of, for instance, our president brazenly threatening to invade another nation for no reason, only to clumsily abandon the idea after being publicly spanked by Putin.
Your legacy, Mr. President, will be defined by small, shameful things, as your presidency has been primarily a succession of small, shameful things. The platitudes you spouted during your campaign — the theatrics, the pomp, the hype — have all faded. Replaced by the scheming partisan machinations that have come to define your tenure.
Every president has a moment that encapsulates their time in office; your moment, Mr. President, happened this week. Sure, future generations will look at you with mockery and scorn because of bigger scandals — Benghazi, the IRS targeting conservatives, Obamacare, the birth control mandate and your attacks on religious liberty, spying on journalists, arming terrorists overseas, Fast and Furious, the green energy scams, the bailouts, your support for infanticide, the billions you’ve given to the abortion industry, your cowardice in refusing to address the Gosnell murders, your reckless exploitation of the Zimmerman trial, the out of control deficit spending, your refusal to enforce immigration laws, the massive expansion of the Welfare State, the lies, the broken promises, etc — but I think, in an understated way, what you’ve done this week is a better microcosm of your entire reign.

I’m not just referring to the fact that you are peddling the lie that “Republicans” have “shutdown the government,” when, in fact, they have attempted to pass several bills that would fund the government. Mr. President, you tell these fables to the trained seals in the media and your voting base, but you know damn well that any American with a capacity for critical thought will roundly reject this absurd narrative. YOU have chosen to “shut down” the government because you have made Obamacare the ultimate priority. You have said, “Obamacare or nothing,” and then accused Republicans of being the “hostage takers.” They are holding the government hostage by trying to fund it? What a silly idea. But then, you are a silly, ridiculous president. Speaking of which, this takes us right to your defining moment: barricading memorials and monuments in a ploy to win an argument.

Comparatively insignificant when stacked up against your war crimes and constitutional infringements, but it is nonetheless an apt illustration. The Lincoln Memorial is just a giant statue. There isn’t any reason why people shouldn’t be able to look at a statue during a government shutdown. In past shutdowns, the memorials were open, with only the information centers closing down. The Lincoln Memorial has never been completely closed off from the public until now. You have decided to spend money to block and guard open-air monuments, when it would be cheaper, require less staff, and be less onerous to simply leave them be. Is this some sort of bizarre punitive measure against the American taxpayer?
Infamously, you even attempted to stop WW2 veterans from visiting the WW2 memorial. That memorial is mostly privately funded, and is open 24 hours a day. You SPENT MONEY to physically guard the monument from a group of elderly war veterans. This is truly unprecedented. We have had horrible presidents in the past, but none quite so shallow, cheap and contemptible. You tried to close down Mt. Vernon, which is privately funded, but had to settle for closing its parking lot — even though the parking lot requires no immediate on-going maintenance or surveillance from any federal workers. Did you have to shut down the Normandy cemetery and memorial? Are we saving money that way? I doubt it.
It’s the same game you played during the sequester, and it comes as no surprise to those of us who pay attention (which means it came as a surprise to a large number of people). Rather than leading like a statesman, you hide in the shadows; scheming, conniving, exploiting. You emerge only to make hyper-partisan speeches, with rhetoric best left to Democratic talking heads on afternoon cable news shows. Far from being a “new kind of politician” (as you were advertised), you are the most political politician this country has ever seen. You are political to your core, in your essence, at an atomic level, and so you are unable to offer any direction or clarity when the nation needs it most. Sometimes, Mr. President, the affairs of this nation require a man, not a politician, and it is during those times that you are especially useless. You don’t have any interest in fixing our present crisis because you’re too busy finding ways to keep a busload of 90 year old war veterans from looking at a memorial.

Closing down parks, monuments and memorials just to score political points is hardly your most insidious deed, but it’s certainly one of your pettiest. That’s why it stands, ironically, as a monument of its own. If we ever build a statue of you, Mr. President, you won’t be triumphantly holding a flaming torch like Lady Liberty, or standing authoritatively with a look of determination, like the MLK memorial. No, it will be a statue of you pulling the wings off of a fly, or spitting in someone’s orange juice. It will show you in your essence, as monuments are meant to do. It will show you as a petulant, skulking, juvenile bully. It will show you as you are.

Matt Walsh went to the top of the NSA watch list, took balls to right no matter if it is a D or R in the Whitehouse.

Julie R.

Sun, 10/06/2013 - 8:40pm

Boehner says: "It's our HOUSE and we can do what we want in it."

Bunch of idiots.

coasterfan

Sun, 10/06/2013 - 10:42pm

I say let them commit political suicide. In 2014, voters will remember which ones sided with Ted Cruz.

Perkins2060

Sun, 10/06/2013 - 11:27pm

Yes we will! Obamacare sucks!

deertracker

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 7:12am

Yet you probably think the ACA is great!

Perkins2060

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 7:51am

Quit watching Jimmy Kimmel you moron. All I saw on there were democrat sheeple.

coasterfan

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 12:01pm

Actually, I don't think the ACA is great. I just think it's the first good attempt to address the situation, and by that, I mean it's better than anything the GOP enacted: nothing.

Re: Jimmy Kimmel: I've actually never seen the show. I take it you like the show, and recommend I watch it?

Gotta love when a conservative calls a Democrat a moron. The GOP is the anti-education party, denigrating colleges and teachers, and much of their membership distrusts anyone with advanced education. Many are also anti-science, and deny the existence of climate change and evolution.
Yet, they think Dems are the dumb ones. That's the GOP for you: they're only funny when they don't intend to be...

shucks

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 1:10pm

good analysis

Darwin's choice

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 4:39pm

Here you go....better read up shizzle!....you too, Dog..!

"I was laughing at Republicans..until the mail came, I want affordable healthcare for everyone, but I didn't expect to have to pay for it...."

Who is standing firm?
Fifty-seven House Democrats have broken ranks with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer to vote with Republicans to fund parts of the government like veterans programs, national parks and the National Institutes of Health. Sixteen of those Democrats voted for all six targeted appropriations bills, introduced at the behest of House Speaker John Boehner, including measures to fund the National Guard and Reserve, NIH, national parks, the District of Columbia and two separate votes for veterans programs. (The House of Representatives voted twice to restore funding for veterans programs, once Oct. 1 and a second time Oct. 3.)

The Park Service appears to be closing streets on mere whim and caprice. The rangers even closed the parking lot at Mount Vernon, where the plantation home of George Washington is a favorite tourist destination. That was after they barred the new World War II Memorial on the Mall to veterans of World War II. But the government does not own Mount Vernon; it is privately owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. The ladies bought it years ago to preserve it as a national memorial. The feds closed access to the parking lots this week, even though the lots are jointly owned with the Mount Vernon ladies. The rangers are from the government, and they’re only here to help. “It’s a cheap way to deal with the situation,” an angry Park Service ranger in Washington says of the harassment. “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.”

One side is trying to get things moving, the other is making things as difficult as possible for taxpayers.

coasterfan

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 12:02pm

Yeah. I wish the Republicans wouldn't have created this stalemate, either.

Darwin's choice

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 1:24pm

Troll

There you go again

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 5:18am

And what do you suggest about our $17 trillion debt? Should we just allow Obama to double it? How about just them him triple it? That should make him happy. Our children are smart enough to figure out a plan to pay it off.......

KURTje

Sun, 10/06/2013 - 8:48pm

Meanwhile at the Sandusky Yacht Club the GOP women are.....

grumpy

Sun, 10/06/2013 - 9:13pm

having a party you can buy a ticket to.

grumpy

Sun, 10/06/2013 - 9:16pm

having a party you can buy a ticket to.

2cents

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 6:52am

Yep, and we pay for Obozo to go golfing in the middle of this shutdown on a federal golf course that is not shut down? Your nutzzzzz!

deertracker

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 7:13am

Your point?

MiddleRight

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 11:57am

Point is, he doesn't care when this ends.

2cents

Tue, 10/08/2013 - 6:50am

He just is a cry baby, he wants his way and will have nothing else. Something the vast majority of citizens do not want shoved on them, his changing the darn thing with no approval as he chooses. Only a dictator operates in this manor!

Yellow Snow

Sun, 10/06/2013 - 9:55pm

Ohio's "stand your ground"

Really are you ...

Sun, 10/06/2013 - 11:58pm

"Boehner insisted that Obama must negotiate." Last year didn't Boehner say that his party did not compromise? Negotiating and compromising are pretty much the same thing, right? The way I see it, if congress sends the United States into default, they all should be fired. Fired for not doing their jobs, negotiating, compromising, and passing a budget or laws with the United States in their best interest. If not have a law drawn up for penalties to be imposed on them for the next time.

be for real

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 4:02am

The whole thing doesn't make sense.We are in dept so far and yet we send all that money over seas instead of paying our bills.Stop the foreign aid,and the waste of money in the government starting with them on obamacare and see how long it lasts

bondgirlM

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 5:27am

Boehner and the Republicans are the only ones that have negotiated with Obama since he came into power. That's why he keeps throwing ugly Tantrums when he doesn't get his way. Ask the Ladies of Mt. Vernon LOL

coasterfan

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 12:05pm

Oh, baloney. The ACA is law, having been passed by all 3 branches of the government. Congress passed it 3 years ago. The GOP doesn't negotiate, and the reason we are at the current stalemate is that Obama finally decided to play the game exactly the way the House GOP does.

Seriously, half of the Republican party is in disagreement with Cruz and the teaparty anarchists. Obama isn't the problem here.

Darwin's choice

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 1:13pm

It's the law, so, you political troll , signed up yet for this wonder of a law? It's so full of hole's even you won't put all your information on the site! And, what about those 3/4 of the population that you've said support this? More lies and blathering from the head troll. Liar!!

The official website of the AMBER Alert program has been taken offline, due to the federal government shutdown.

“Due to the lapse in federal funding, this Office of Justice Programs (OJP) website is unavailable,” a message greeting visitors now reads on the website.
AMBER Alert Website Goes Offline Amid Government Shutdown

(Image Source: AmberAlerts.gov)

It was immediately unclear when the website was taken down. However, it should be noted that First Lady Michelle Obama’s website for her “Let’s Move” campaign is still up, running and fully functional.

The AMBER Alert program is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement and broadcasters that issues urgent bulletins following cases of child abductions.

Pterocarya frax...

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 6:55am

When you get elected president, you can keep your wife's website "Let's get Fat" site up and running too.

The Big Dog's back

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 9:23am

Flip to any news channel in the past three years, and you can almost be certain to see any number of Republican governors, blustering about how Washington spends too much money and how they'd never spend that much money if they were President. It's a lot of tough talk, really. But is there any truth to it?
Well, all of this tough budget talk from Republicans got me thinking about the central: who really benefits from government spending? If you listen to Rush Limbaugh, you might think it was those blue states, packed with damn hippie socialist liberals, sipping their lattes and providing free abortions for bored, horny teenagers.

The truth? Not so fast, Michele Bachmann.

As it turns out, it is red states that are overwhelmingly the Welfare Queen States. Yes, that's right. Red States — the ones governed by folks who think government is too big and spending needs to be cut — are a net drain on the economy, taking in more federal spending than they pay out in federal taxes. They talk a good game, but stick Blue States with the bill.

This is all Ted Cruz's fault. He is running Washington. The Tea Party strikes again. It's one more thing and one more thing and they are DUMB enough to think they are winning down there in Washington. This is going to backfire with votes during the next Presidential election to say NOTHING of the next senate and house elections.

With Hillary running during the next Presidential elections, these idiots in Washington better step up their game, stop holding the economy hostage and make nice with an ELECTED PRESIDENT AND ALREADY PASSED LAW before the looming date of the next fiscal vote or we may see worse damage than this country has ever seen. What a mess. The tail is wagging the dog by an insane freshman senator with delusion of grandure. Call the men in the White Coats. Hey Perry....your village idiot is missing and living in Washington.

2cents

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 6:55am

Someone has to run Washington, the people elected have screwed it up so bad, giving away everything including this countries ability to steer the world powers for the benefit of good. Oboze needs to go home and let some real business minded people take over!

gramafun

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 7:15am

And he should take the Senate and House with him. Perhaps it is time to get rid of ALL the people who have spent too much time in Washington and the new guys who don't know what they are doing. Scrap it all and begin again. I could live with that.

coasterfan

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 12:08pm

Nope. Obama isn't the problem. The current budget votes are typically (and should still be) a routine vote which keeps the government/system operating. Unfortunately, a few of the people voted in (tea party) have decided to hijack our normal way of doing business. They don't like a particular law of the land, so they have created an artificial impasse.

Politics. There was already enough votes to pass it back then. Moot point.

Perkins2060

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 2:34pm

That makes it ok then? Sheeple.

Erie County Resident

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 4:42pm

Obama IS the problem. He is having a temper tantrum like a spoiled brat. You better give me everything I demand or I won't play with you.
Obama and the Demonthugs have shut down everything they can to destroy this country, even thing s that are wide open that had NO barriers.
Let's close off the rivers in Montana to kill off fishing, let's close the OCEAN to kill off anything out there also. What's next block the air so nobody can breath???

The House has passed numerous bills for a budget.
Your Demontugs passed this crap Obamacare law when you had the majority and didn't negotiate with anyone.
To bad you can't stand getting the same tactics used thrown back at you.

The Big Dog's back

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 5:20pm

When you Teathuglicans get control of all 3 branches then you can change the LAW! Until then go back in your caves.

bobshumway92

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 10:09pm

HUSSEIN obama is my savior!

coasterfan

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 3:52pm

Yeah, what is it with Texas? First Bush, then Perry, now Cruz. They seem to champion having a lower than average intelligence. Of course, this is the party that brought us Palin, Bachmann, Cain. If these people are the best your party can find, it's a sign that it's time to find a new party.

OK kids, our country has run effectively for 200+ years on something called MAJORITY RULE. That is, until a minority of like-minded simpletons decided they knew better than the Founding Fathers and all the revered leaders since that time.

Darwin's choice

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 4:41pm

You're still a political troll.

shucks

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 11:06pm

coasterfan's a smart guy , you're still the idiot , Dummy's choice.

Darwin's choice

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 11:42pm

azzhat

thinkagain

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 7:30am

You have to be an idiot to not admit that spending cuts must be made sooner or later. Why not now and avoid going further into debt?

The Big Dog's back

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 9:04am

Cut the military wasteful spending and stop all subsidies to the rich.

shucks

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 1:16pm

Stop the " welfare for the rich" .

coasterfan

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 1:17pm

I think the real idiots are the party that CREATED the deficit in the first place, via tax cuts for the rich and 2 unfunded wars.

Let's put that in layman's terms: it's like asking your boss for a 50% cut in your paycheck at the same time you use your credit card to build a new swimming pool for your backyard and a vacation in Hawaii.

Then you sell your house, and hand off that multi-trillion dollar credit card bill to the new owner, and then blame HIM for being "fiscally irresponsible", even as he works to slow the damage you caused.

And there we have it, summed up in 2 short paragraphs: a recent history of what actually happened in America 2002 to present.

As this country swirls down the bowl and into history, you’ll still be blaming Bush while yelling spend, spend, spend.

shucks

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 9:34pm

We SHOULD be blaming Bush for borrowing ,borrowing ,borrowing.

donutshopguy

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 8:14am

gramafun,

That process you want is called a revolution. It has happened throughout the world since the beginning of time. In most cases, this process is created by leaders not listening or caring to the people they represent. Does that sound familiar?

This country is heading toward this ending or rebirth. The choice of words depends on your outlook. It's not going to be pretty but this evolution is in our future.

The Big Dog's back

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 9:06am

The Liberals smacked down the Cons during the Civil War. Might be time to do it again.

Perkins2060

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 1:10pm

Wasn't Lincoln a Republican?

The Big Dog's back

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 2:30pm

Lincoln was a Liberal.

Perkins2060

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 2:35pm

So Lincoln was a democrat? Hmm. News to me.

The Big Dog's back

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 3:17pm

For those reading comprehension challenged, Lincoln was a Liberal.

The Big Dog's back

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 3:19pm

Ohhhhh, and Lincoln was from that horrible state of Illinois, you know, where CHICAGO is located.

coasterfan

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 1:35pm

Actually, the revolution already happened, via 2008 presidential election. The losers just don't like the fact that they lost, and like even LESS that the people (inspite of widespread attempts to disenfranchise millions of Democrat voters) reaffirmed that vote in 2012. And they clearly don't like that they also haven't been able to abolish Obamacare via normal Constitutional channels.

It's a party of losers, whose only ability is that of stopping discussion and saying "no" to everything.

Unfortunately, their version of "revolution" is contrary to the Constitution. The ACA has been affirmed by popular vote (Obama campaigned for re-election with it as part of his platform, and Romney campaigned on a promise to abolish it), along with all three (3) branches of government.

The ACA debate they're demanding has already happened. Congress voted it into law, and a Republican-majority Supreme Court affirmed it. If they don't like the Constitution, there is no fence holding them in. I suggest they move somewhere else, where they can start their own country. The other 80-90% of Americans will not miss Ted or his kind, one bit...

Perkins2060

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 1:29pm

Did you sign up yet?

Darwin's choice

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 4:42pm

How about it troll, have you signed your family up yet?

Dr. Information

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 8:27am

The US is just like the Roman Empire. While it was once the largest and most powerful empire, its spending, taxation and handouts caused its ultimate collapse. We are no different. This is the beginning of our collapse.

Help your neighbors, help your local community and hope that the government doesn't come to your door for your guns or for more money.

shucks

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 10:04pm

Ohhh , you've got that pretty much wrong , Miss Information.

The Big Dog's back

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 9:02am

missinformed, power and greed caused it's collapse. Much like the 1% today.

dorothy gale

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 9:15am

The ACA is a law, ruled constitutional by the highest court in the land. Leave it alone, Boner, and do your effing job!

The Big Dog's back

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 9:22am

Correct dorothy.

Darwin's choice

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 1:08pm

Big Dog and Dorothy, either of you two signed up yet?? I'm betting no way....hypocrites both..!

Perkins2060

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 1:12pm

No, they either got a union exemption or got it paid by the government.

Lil DAB

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 9:34am

Obamacare: Tax Or Penalty? The Affordable Care Act is a 'law' of social change. The 'law' costs too much and gives the government too much power in personal health matters.
"In 2014 the initial levy will be just $95. By 2016, it is scheduled to increase to $695 or 2.5 percent of taxable income—up to a maximum of $2,085 (indexed for inflation in subsequent years)."
The IRS can subtract the penalty from any refund it owes a taxpayer. if the tax fails to encourage healthy people to buy until they need coverage, the rest of us will end up paying higher insurance premiums as a result.<-----------
And that’s the trouble with this entire mechanism. You call it a law. The Supreme Court calls it a tax. President Obama and Mitt Romney’s chief spokesman insist it is a penalty. But here’s a better label—inadequate.

So let me see if I have this straight, a Republican dominated Congress is pretty much saying they're going to default on $$$$'s they themselves already approved if the ACA isn't put on hold, a bill and now law passed by the majority and upheld by a Republican Supreme Court, right? Do I have that straight? Cause I seem to recall past Presidents that weren't willing to deal with TYRRANTS, TERRORISTS either, foreign or domestic!

What a joke on all the hard-working American people this is, and especially those working in "essential" positions on BILLION $$$ GOVERNMENT projects that aren't allowed to use any leave, aren't receiving any pay, and should this continue will be held responsible to pay any bills for necessary travel, lodging & food accrued while working on those government projects, all the while Congress and the rest on Capitol Hill are being paid! Nothing like an entire country being held hostage by those we pay and are meant to represent WE THE PEOPLE!!!! Pretty sure someone will let me know if I'm way off track here.

Perkins2060

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 1:13pm

Remind me. Didn't Oduma vote against raising the debt ceiling when he was a Senator? Looks like you are another sheep.

coasterfan

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 1:37pm

Truth: yes, you have the entire scenario correct.

shucks

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 1:37pm

Hi , all you Republican , KoolAid drinking , brain-damaged sheep !!!

coasterfan

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 3:58pm

Yeah, what is it with Texas? First Bush, then Perry, now Cruz. They seem to champion having a lower than average intelligence. Of course, this is the party that brought us Palin, Bachmann, Cain. If these people are the best your party can find, it's a sign that it's time to find a new party.

OK kids, our country has run effectively for 200+ years on something called MAJORITY RULE. That is, until a minority of like-minded simpletons decided they knew better than the Founding Fathers and all the revered leaders since that time.

Obama is simply handling the debt ceiling issue as has been done in the past. What has changed is that an anarchist minority are holding their breath until they get their way. Obama has no choice but to not give in; if he does, then they have carte blanche to do this every time in the future. That would undermine our entire Majority Rule system as well as our entire electoral process. I applaud Obama, a former Constitutional law professor, for handling the process in a Constitutional way.

Darwin's choice

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 4:44pm

More from the Obama paid troll...shut up and go away.

Darwin's choice

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 5:00pm

Obama says to Boehner "Go ahead and put it to a vote right now"...

Hopefully, in true Obama fashion,and copying his tremendous term in the senate,everyone will vote "present"....!

Darwin's choice

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 5:07pm

"This morning I went to sign my dogs up for welfare. At first the lady said,
"Dogs are not eligible to draw welfare." So I explained to her that my dogs
are mixed in color, unemployed, lazy, can't speak English and have no frigging
clue who their Daddies are. They expect me to feed them, provide them with
housing and medical care. So she looked in her policy book to see what it takes
to qualify. My dogs get their first checks Friday.

Wow, is this is a great country or what?!."

Thank a democrat!.....

The Big Dog's back

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 5:29pm

durwood, turn off the radio.

Darwin's choice

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 6:32pm

troll

shucks

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 9:27pm

No , Dummy's choice , YOU are the troll.

bobshumway92

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 6:56pm

Hussein Odingleberry's favorite way to vote. Present.

big_d

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 10:18pm

I'm not a politician or a party shill for either party, so the question I ask is: Why is it bad for the working uninsured to be able to purchase health insurance? The people on welfare already have access to medicaid, the senior citizens, medicare. What am I missing? It seems to me that socialized medicine, or some form of it, is coming, it has to. How does a country allow some of its citizens access to healthcare, which is a basic human right, if they are fortunate enough to work for an employer who offers it, or can pay for it out of pocket, and not others?

Darwin's choice

Mon, 10/07/2013 - 11:47pm

How does a country make it a law that you have to have coverage? If you can't afford to make ends meet for living, how in the hell are you supposed to pay for health insurance? You better read up on ACA.....!

big_d

Tue, 10/08/2013 - 6:00pm

Isn't that the reason for the ACA? To make it affordable?

bobshumway92

Tue, 10/08/2013 - 9:34am

New polls say the majority of Americans do NOT want the debt ceiling raised! Keep up the fight! Oblamer looks more and more childish everyday!

OSUBuckeye59

Tue, 10/08/2013 - 11:47am

As one might expect, polls are reflective of those people the news source targets: a new Fox News poll shows a majority of Americans do *NOT* want the debt ceiling raised while a new Huffington Post poll shows a majority of Americans *WANT* the debt ceiling raised.

Darwin's choice

Tue, 10/08/2013 - 11:51pm

A new poll today says that Americans prefer hemmoriods over Congress 53% to 31%

OSUBuckeye59

Wed, 10/09/2013 - 10:08am

Both have something in common, but only 1 pain can be alleviated with a cream medication. :)

It's really sad that a lot of people can not or will not interpret the speach on Nov. 3, 2006 of then Senator, Barack O'Bama. What he said was mostly true and now he has done a complete 180 degrees, "Drink the Kool-Aid". If you Left-Wingers would have listened to Mitt Romney you would have seen what was coming. Big business is exempt for another year. I wonder what would have happened if they would have said every one must sign up but middle class caucasions are exempt for another year. I'd sure bet you would here all kinds of discrimination. Those that say ACA is law, where does it say anyone is exempt? Good for One, Good for All.

OSUBuckeye59

Thu, 10/10/2013 - 11:45am

Are you saying because then freshman Obama thought this (to not increase the debt limit ceiling) was a good idea it is obviously a good idea? You think that the GOP is just inspired by his young, naive example?

AJ Oliver

Wed, 10/09/2013 - 12:32pm

The righties spewed the same sort of hysteria when social security and medicare were enacted. But back then they never threatened to blow up the economy if their demands were not met. This is unprecedented.

KURTje

Thu, 10/10/2013 - 6:05am

How much longer before the GOP'ers are obsolete

EZOB

Thu, 10/10/2013 - 6:25am

Not much longer if you ever read anything about Saul Alinsky. If the GOP fails, the weak boned Democrats will soon follow and you'll have Your Communist State and Government.

KURTje

Thu, 10/10/2013 - 10:03am

E-z don't be so old & grouchy. Breathe in - breathe out.

grumpy

Thu, 10/10/2013 - 11:53am

Don't try to point out the shortcomings of the dumb and dumber parties. The sheepole in them don't like it when you point out they are being led by their snouts. See how kURTje is trying to sooth out what is happening. he likes the sheepole being led about. On horses it is called wearing blinders. It makes the horses easier to control.

EZOB

Thu, 10/10/2013 - 12:20pm

GRUMPY,
Use to won a few horses, Blinders and Hopples. I'm not making anything up, just stating facts on what I have read and O'Bama has studied. People "Stare" at this guy in awe and don't listen to a word He says. All you have to do is have the ability to absorb what He says and you'll know the full plan is laid out.

KURTje

Thu, 10/10/2013 - 1:18pm

Stated it here before Obama got elected. Wars cost major$$. We are out of Iraq. Most of the 3/25th Marines in Brookpark,Ohio voted for Obama. McClain had no timeline on Iraq. Obama did. Can you imagine what the cost for US would if were still there? Sadly Reagan's/Wilson's mess still lives.

grumpy

Thu, 10/10/2013 - 3:37pm

" Wars cost major$$. We are out of Iraq."
And in Afganastan, Yemen, Pakistan, Libya, and ...

Facts are hard to hide from...

We were promised to be out in less than a year... 5+ years ago.... But I guess that doesn't count, when you suck up to the dumb and/or dumber party.

EZOB

Thu, 10/10/2013 - 2:44pm

grumpy,
All I can say is "WOW". We just lost how many troops in Falujah? Yep, we're out. I was just with a lot of Marines at the Mid-East conference Wall in Ottowa, Illinois. Believe me, they didn't vote for O'Bama. I believe statistics show that the Marines in Cleveland voted for O'Bama and their dead grandparents also. Hey, Guantanimo is also closed, right? And by the way, Wasn't that Romney that just ran against O'Bama?

KURTje

Thu, 10/10/2013 - 4:44pm

I know you guys are old so I'll explain it again slow. See if you were there & did something...opps. Maybe you liked Josh Mandel too. A couple of Generals voiced their valid opinion about him also. Or maybe you thought W actually served.

grumpy

Thu, 10/10/2013 - 6:32pm

No matter how slow you say it when what you say isn't true it doesn't make you smarter. You were impressed when obama set a timeline for pulling out of Iraq and Affganistan... then didn't follow it. made promises he didn't keep outright lied about his healthcare plan's cost, coverage, ability to keep your present plan, keep your doctor... I could go on but is there really any need to? He has fallen short on all those promises and more. Since I voted for neither McCain nor Romney, what you think they would or would not do doesn't matter, we have to deal with the mistake we have in office.

Dr. Information

Fri, 10/11/2013 - 8:08am

Iraq pullout was set in place by Bush.

EZOB

Fri, 10/11/2013 - 9:04am

Dr. Information,
When are you people with "Tunnel Vision" going to get away from blaming Bush. O'Bama is in charge and He hasn't had any problem changing anything He chooses. If you want the troops puuled out may I suggest You bring it to O'Bama's attention because He "IS" the current man in charge. Just in case you haven't been keeping up, we haven't heard much about pulling out of anyplace. In fact we are becoming more involved in other countries and Gitmo is still open. It costs $4.00 a day to feed our troops there and $14.00 to feed the Muslim prisoners.

shucks

Fri, 10/11/2013 - 12:40pm

Bush said the wars in afgahnistan and Iraq were " Mission Accomplished ", or have you overlooked that ?

OSUBuckeye59

Fri, 10/11/2013 - 3:00pm

A good friend of mine posted the following on Facebook:

"Last night we had a family meeting.

You see, we had all decided to go on vacation to Hawaii, even though I thought that doing so would ruin our family financially, but I was out voted. So I let them all know that while I wasn't going back on my vote, I was going to withhold any funds I had committed to provide until we voted on several other items of concern to me. Of course everyone was totally chill with that because it is fair and within “the rules” and my cause supersedes all else.

We also decided the best way to balance our family budget was to raise how much we were allowed to spend every year, even though we will not be taking in anymore money and are in so much debt my calculator can’t handle the number due to its enormity.

Additionally we decided to not pay for police, fire, and ambulance services; however, we will continue to pay our share of money which is returned to ourselves in the way of income because we think our family is essential and cutting off emergency services will serve as a reminder to everyone how essential we really are and the services we provide, even though there are only a few places anyone is actually noticing our absence.

Lastly, even though we aren't paying for emergency services we are going to pay policemen to deny access to our lawn.

Of course by now you have all figured out this is impossible because there is no family or entity on earth that could be this stupid...Is there?"

EZOB

Fri, 10/11/2013 - 3:16pm

4shizzle,
To correct you, that was after Iraq and you say? Again, I fully understand and do you remember? You people are like those suffering Alzheimers. You can remember 5-10 years ago but have little knowledge of the broken promises of the last 5 years. Whenever I say something negative about O'Bama the left always responds he is our President and was re-elected. Well, Guess what, quit reffering to Bush as our last elected President, The last elected President BEFORE O'Bama took office in 2013 was, You guessed it, O'Bama. If you want to put any blame prior to the catastrophy we are experiencing at this time, blame the last President, O'Bama.

shucks

Sun, 10/13/2013 - 11:20am

You people are like those suffering with silly thinking.

Bush was before Obama.
Bush did a lot of damage that will take a long time to clean up -- like the BP oil spill.
If you think Obama could clean up Bush's big mess in short time -- well, you really don't understand what's going on.